Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-05-13

count the REDSKINS n mebbe he q hit on
some plan to get their scalps fore morn
in. So he KEEP edgin' along on his face
to'ards the crack, n every time tn In
juns'd laugh or make a noise he'd hist
over few inches, n then when they'd
get quiet he'd lay still. Now, when
Dick built tn cabin one pole cut fer tn
loft wuzn't jest straight, he'd bow in it
like, N he wuz in hurry n didn't stop
to get another, but jest put it in, bowin'
side up, n cut a notch in tn logs fer it
to lay in n stuck wedge in by tn side
to keep it firm. 1t he'd shrlnk ez it got
seasoned, O. course, n got loose. Di-
rectly tn Injuns set up big laugh at
some joke, Joe Civ a big bunch for ard
on his face, struck tn bowin' part o.
this pole, and that turned quicker'n a
flash n opened big hole in the loft
floor n let Joe Speaker down through,
head first, eyes poppin' out o his head
at tn idea o plumpin' down 'mong a
lot O Injuns, he didn't know how many,
his great big fat body n short legs n
arms all stretched out. fer all tn world
like big bullfrog. n yellin out, ooh,
Lord! here l comet to tn top O. his
bass voice. TIL Injuns didn't hev time
fer more'n glimpse o him, landin'
right in tn midst NV 'em 'thout havin
sed word about it. 18th whole lot O
clapboards rattlin down on 'em n
three or four bushels o. that corn pour
in on top O tn whole caboodle so quick
they didn't know what it all wuz. They
jest got up, them 1niuns did. n made a
break fer more air n more room, II
didn't stop fer compliments nor nothn'
but give one snort n jumped for dear
life. Just then tn men up stairs all
jumped up, fer they thought, O.
course, there'd be a mighty interestin'
state o things n bout Jest no time
at all, n jumped up so quick their
heads all bumped 'ginst tn clapboard
roof t TIL same time. They jest knocked
off tn whole side o. tn roof on tn front
o tn house, n bout thousand O. them
boards came a-rattlin' down 'mong
Injuns jest S tn got side tn door. That
wuz worse n more Nv it, n them redskins
jest went a callyhootin fer tail timber, a
yellin like all possessed n got clean out
o sight n bout no time. Then Joe
Speaker got up on his feet n looked out
o doors n seen no Injuns, n all their
blankets n guns n tomahawks piled up
there, n felt in his pocket, II got out his
pipe, lit it, n said: Ply shiminy, poys,
| told you we see Injuns. n set down
afore the fire n begun to finish cookin'
tn venison, jest as cool s if he'd begun
the job himself. He told tn boys they
needn't be a mite afraid O. the Iniuns
comm back, n sure they didn't. They
wuz eighteen guns n powder horns n
tomahawks in tn corner, so they'd been
that many Injuns there fore Joe Speaker
scared EN- off droppin down atop NV EN-.
The boys eat a hearty supper off that
venison n got home n good time next
mornn', n never seen no more Injuns
that season. They often told tn
story themselves, but they never heard
anything about the Injun side NV it,
fer twenty years or more, when one day
one NV EN- told about it in a store near
the Injun country. There wuz n old
redskin there n he heard it 18th great
int rest, n then said he wuz one o. them
same chaps; said they'd gone to ards the
settlements t see f they could get few
scalps. They'd been at tn cabin that
afternoon. scoutin round, n agreed to
meet there n stay all night. SO when
they met there they didn't see nothing
strange, n supposed they wuz all alone,
n when Joe Speaker come tumblin'
down so sudden n tn clapboards n
come pilin' atop they wuz so scared
they thought it wuz tn old boy himself,
n didn't stop runnin' for an hour. Then
they found they'd left all their guns n
powder, but they dassent go back for
EN-, n they like t starved afore they got
in tn 1njun country n got somethin' to
eat. He wuz awful relieved to know
t he hadn't run away from tn devil
that night"
"Grandpa?'
"Well, Polly"
Il think it was real mean to scare
away those poor, hungry Indians before
they got one bite of upper!'-Cincin-
natl Enquirer.